DU QUOIN, Ill. — The largest Ted Horn 100 field in 20 years is set to compete in this Saturday night’s 68th running of the event under the lights at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois on September 3.
42 USAC Silver Crown entries are expected for the 100-mile, 100-lap Ted Horn 100 Presented by MiteXstream, which was first held in 1951 under American Automobile Association (AAA) sanctioning and won by that year’s National Champion, Tony Bettenhausen.
The most recent Du Quoin Silver Crown event to feature a car count in excess of 40 came in 2002 when 43 cars signed in.
Six past Ted Horn 100 winner are in this Saturday’s Du Quoin field, including defending winner, Brian Tyler (2008 & 2021), current point leader, Kody Swanson (2010 & 2017), and Shane Cockrum (2014 & 2015).
Single-time Ted Horn 100 winners eying a return to victory lane at the event include Russ Gamester (1997), Shane Cottle (2007) and Chris Urish (2013).
Swanson and Cottle have previously won the pole for the event. Swanson has done it three times in 2015-16-21 while Cottle has achieved the feat twice, during back-to-back years, in 2007-08. No driver has won the pole in USAC Silver Crown competition at Du Quoin more often than Jerry Coons Jr. with four in 2001-10-13-17.
A number of USAC national champions are scattered throughout the field, eight in fact. Kody Swanson is a six-time USAC Silver Crown champion in 2014-15-17-18-19-21. Coons captured USAC National Midget titles in 2006-07 as well as USAC National Sprint Car and USAC Silver Crown top honors in 2008.
Tyler scored consecutive USAC National Sprint Car championships in 1996-97. Gamester collected a USAC National Midget crown in 1989. Logan Seavey became a USAC National Midget titlist in 2018. C.J. Leary notched a USAC National Sprint Car title in 2019.
Justin Grant became the king of the USAC Silver Crown series in 2020. Buddy Kofoid, making his debut run at Du Quoin this weekend, is the reigning 2021 champ and current point leader of the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship.